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"Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!
Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
Know that the LORD, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
For the LORD is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations."
(Psalm 100:1-5)
A joyful shout; I like that! I join in with King David and give shouts of praise and thanksgiving to our great God. The LORD has been so good to you and me, and He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:3). I hope you and your loved ones had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. How refreshing it is to slow down and be with family and friends, pause, and simply be grateful to God who is the giver of every good gift (James 1:17). Ashley and I enjoyed time with our family, ate good food, watched football (of course), and enjoyed some down time before gearing up for a very busy December.
If you are in the Austin area December 9-11, please come by and enjoy Christmas @ Great Hills. We will have lots of activities for the family with the main feature being our Christmas Express train rides around our campus. Our church purchased two state-of-the-art trains which each hold 27 passengers. They are quiet and give a smooth ride. You will enjoy a dramatic rendering of the Christmas narrative and other scenes in Jesus' life. When you see Him come out of the tomb, you will have a great reason to shout for joy! We are praying that God moves in wonderful ways and we see people come to faith in Christ. Please pray for me, because each night I will share the Gospel and give an invitation for those present to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior – and get this: I will do it three times each night!
The Lord has been so good to us. Ashley and I are grateful to God for many things, and at the top of the list is the blessing of serving as pastor at GHBC. I ran 8.5 miles on Thanksgiving Day. (Yes, kind of crazy, I know, but if I do not train hard now, then the Dopey Race in January will be quite painful!) As I ran and walked in the rain, I listened to an hour-long video our church made for us for pastor appreciation month. I was deeply moved and blessed by so many who gave words of affirmation and appreciation for our ministry here at GHBC the last 12 years. As a person whose love language is words of affirmation, it blessed me and put more fuel in my spiritual and ministerial tanks to keep going strong for Jesus.
I am also thankful for you who are reading today's devotion. Many of you pray for us and our team at DFEA, and we are most appreciative. Tomorrow is a big day for nonprofit ministries like DFEA. On Giving Tuesday, people give a little extra to the ministries that bless them and others. I hope you will take a moment and donate to our ministry, whether it is a small or large gift, it is all very appreciated.
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